English 488/588 – 36001/36002 NATIVE AMERICAN FILM Professor Kirby Brown Class Meetings Office: 523 PLC Hall TR: 2-3:50pm Office Hours: T, 4-5pm; W, 9-11am, and by email appt. Location: ED 276 [email protected] COURSE DESCRIPTION There is perhaps no image more widely recognized yet more grossly misunderstood in American popular culture than the “Indian.” Represented as everything from irredeemable savages and impediments to progress to idealized possessors of primitive innocence and arbiters of new-age spiritualism, “the Indian” stands as an anachronistic relic of a bygone era whose sacrifice on the altars of modernity and progress, while perhaps tragic, is both inevitable and necessary to the maintenance of narratives of US exceptionalism in the Americas. Though such images have a long history in a variety of discursive forms, the emergence of cinematic technologies in the early twentieth century and the explosion of film production and distribution in the ensuing decades solidified the Noble Savage/Vanishing American as indelible, if contradictory, threads in the fabric of the US national story. Of course, the Reel Indians produced by Hollywood say very little about Real Native peoples who not only refuse to vanish but who consistently reject their prescribed roles in the US national imaginary, insisting instead on rights to rhetorical and representational sovereignty. Through a juxtaposition of critical and cinematic texts, the first third of the course will explore the construction of “Reel Indians” from early ethnographic documentaries and Hollywood Westerns to their recuperation as countercultural anti-heroes in the 60s, 70s and 80s. The last two-thirds of the course will examine the various ways in which Native-produced films of the late 1990s to the present contest— if not outright refuse!—narrative, generic, and representational constructions of “the white man’s Indian” on the way to imagining more complex possibilities for “Real Indians” in the twenty-first century. LEARNING OUTCOMES 1. Read critical and cinematic texts with discernment and comprehension, paying particular attention to the intersections of race, representation, cinematic/narrative conventions and form. 2. Situate course content in its relevant historical, cultural, intellectual, and cinematic contexts in Indian Country and the US. 3. Interrogate the relationship between cultural production, popular attitudes, and federal policy. 4. Examine popular and scholarly engagements with course material, and critically evaluate the ways in which cultural and intellectual assumptions, values, and beliefs frame engagements with and understandings of course material. 5. Produce focused, critical, formal analyses/close readings of literary and cinematic texts in clear, grammatical prose. 6. Generate original research utilizing primary and secondary sources with proper attribution per disciplinary conventions. REQUIRED TEXTS All required readings are available on Canvas. FILMS Diamond, Neil. Reel Injun (85 min). 2009. Flaherty, Robert J. Nanook of the North: A Story of Life and Love in the Actual Arctic (79 min). 1922. Ford, John. The Searchers. (119 min). 1956. Penn, Arthur. Little Big Man (139 min). 1970. Eyre, Chris (Cheynne). Smoke Signals (89 min). 1998. Cousineau, Marie-Hélène and Madeline Ivalu (Inuit). Before Tomorrow (93 mins). 2008. Soap, Charlie (Cherokee) and Tim Kelly. The Cherokee Word for Water (98 mins). 2013. Harjo, Sterlin (Mvscogee/Creek), This May Be the Last Time (90 mins). 2014. Danis Goulet (Cree/Metis). “Wakening.” (9mins). 2014. Nanobah Becker (Diné). “The 6th World.” (15 mins). 2014. PARTICIPATION AND ATTENDANCE You are expected to attend class regularly, bring assigned texts to class and make substantial contributions to class discussions. This requires that you keep up with the reading assignments, make observations and take careful notes for each text, and bring thoughtful questions or concerns to class. Always remain civil and on point in your discussion of texts and ideas. Missing class more than twice in the term will result in reduction of your final grade by 1/3 of a letter grade for each absence beyond the two permitted. There is no distinction between excused and unexcused absences. If you miss class, it is your responsibility entirely to get notes for that day and catch up on any material you missed. ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT This course offers a variety of assignments by which your performance is ultimately assessed so that your final grade is not dependent upon a single skill or performance. These include daily reading/viewing journals, weekly informal online blog posts/responses, two film reviews from a list of my choosing, and a final research project. Late assignments will be accepted under no circumstances. Group Facilitation In groups, you will be asked to facilitate a discussion of one of our primary readings for a given day. Facilitations should be between 15-20 minutes in length and should eventually guide our attention to three or four problems, questions, or critical issues to guide discussion. You should print out a 1-2 page handout for the class that outlines your main ideas/claims on the text and lists 3-4 discussion questions. I encourage you to use A/V technology and require that you consult with me as a group in advance of the presentation. You will be evaluated based upon your understanding and communication of the material, the clarity and creativity of your presentations, and your ability to field questions from your colleagues and guide discussion. Discussion Forum (Canvas) Discussion Posts and Responses are your opportunity to engage critically with a primary text, essay, idea or concept as well as respond thoughtfully to the thoughts, arguments and analyses of your peers. Each student will be required to submit one original post and reply to two others at least three times throughout the term. Discussion posts should be focused and substantive (~750words) and synthesize ideas from your reading journal, course notes, and class discussions by critically exploring a specific issue, problem or question of form elicited by the text(s) (i.e. I want to see you wrestling with the text/film). They should be cleanly written; advance a clearly–articulated, interpretive claim (i.e. thesis statement); present evidence from the text that illustrates that claim; and, most importantly, interpret that evidence for your readers (i.e. an explanation of how the text/illustration functions as you claim it does). Responses will substantively engage (~250-300 words) the issues, problems or questions posed in TWO discussion posts in an informal yet sophisticated way (i.e. I want to see you wrestling with the arguments of your peers). ENG 488/588: Native American Literature and Film: 2 Film Reviews You are required to submit TWO double-spaced, formally written film reviews of selections from a list of my choosing that speak in some way to the films/critical contexts we’ve discussed in class. One will examine a single film in 4-5 pages. A second review of 6-7 pages will be comparative in nature. Explicit instructions are available on Canvas. Final Research Project The project can be an extension of one or both of your reviews, a discussion you’ve begun in your journals and on the discussion forum, or a new project entirely. Regardless, it must in some way engage one or more of the texts/films, critical issues, or historical contexts we’ve discussed in class. It can take the form of a traditional research paper (8-10 page, double-spaced for undergraduates, 10-12 page double-spaced for graduate students) or can employ various technologies and forms (visual culture, material culture, new media; film, music, television; graphic novels, comics, gaming). You need to work out the logistics directly with me well ahead of time. A draft presentation should be prepared by week 8 or 9 for discussion and feedback. Final drafts will be due on the scheduled day of our final exam and will be posted to the final exam assignment listing on Canvas. **Please note that undergraduates are required to consult at least 6 outside sources not on the syllabus; graduates should consult at least 8 outside sources not on the syllabus (you may, of course, include sources on the syllabus, but you’ll need to consult the requisite number of additional sources listed here). At least two of these should be hard copy sources from the library or Special Collections. GRADING Discussion Posts/Responses (DP, DR) 20% Facilitation of Secondary Text (F) 10% Film Review #1, single film (SFR) 15% Film Review #2, comparative (CFR) 25% Final Research Project (FRP) 30% NOTE: Meeting the minimum requirements for the course (attending consistently, regular participation, meeting deadlines) will typically result in an average grade, or a C on the college scale. Higher grades are awarded based upon exceeding minimum expectations per my discretion. GRADE POINT DISTRIBUTION F <59.5 B- 79.6-83.5 D- 59.6-63.5 B 83.6-87.5 D 63.6-67.5 B+ 87.6-89.5 D+ 67.6-69.5 A- 89.6-93.5 C- 69.6-73.5 A 93.6-97.5 C 73.6-77.5 A+ 97.6-100+ C+ 77.6-79.5 COURSE CONTENT AND INTELLECTUAL DISCUSSION Due to the ongoing histories/experiences of settler-colonialism, institutional racism, gender violence, state violence, dispossession, and incarceration that inform both our contemporary moment and our readings for the term, this course will openly engage these and related issues without censorship. If content makes attendance and participation impossible, please see me to make alternative arrangements. CLASS COMMUNICATION Get in the habit of checking your UO email account regularly (i.e. daily) as this will be our primary means of communication outside of class. Please be aware that I will not respond to emails sent after 5pm or on the weekend until the next weekday.